Arranging the music of 2 songs...

Neko debuted back in 2008 on a Banjo-Kazooie collab with Audix; as a side note, we got to talk quite a bit with Grant Kirkhope in person at MAGFest, and he's really an awesome, down-to-earth guy with a lot of industry stories and a great sense of humor. Big fan of Judas Priest, too, which I promised him I would check out, and will. But back to Justin Jones and his debut *solo* mix... this is some kicking Xenogears action the judges were unanimously digging - the second time around. JJ writes:

"I first played Xenogears in 1998 when it came out (still have my copy :D ) and was enthralled. As time went on I learned to recognize its obvious shortcomings, which I think led me appreciate the game differently. It's not perfect by any means -- there's a lot I'd chop out of it -- but by and large it's enjoyable. The soundtrack pretty much makes the game for me. I've always felt that "Awakening" and "Omen" were the standout tracks, so I wanted to take "Awakening" and apply to it the "this is my world, and I'm ready to take it back" feeling. The name of the remix is "Mechanical God |Create|Corrupt|Consume|" in reference to Deus (badass robot) as the creator, the corrupter, and eventually the consumer.

Tech talk: Recorded in Steinberg Nuendo with an Ibanez SZ520 into a PodXT Live processor. Drumkit From Hell used for the drums. This is my second go at it, as the first was rejected based on technical aspects for the most part. I've refined it, eliminated all of the clipping that I could find, and threw in some bass now that I have one. Drums have been boosted as per request."

Mr. Aversa wrote:

"The original sub of this mix was only a borderline NO for me because of production issues. I loved the creative interpretation of the sources tunes, which, despite their popularity, are treated differently here than in any other mix on OCR. In this new version, the is noticeably improved from the original submission, as is the tweaked ending, which was the only aspect of the arrangement I didn't like last time around. I'm really glad Nekofrog was open to constructive criticism and decided to go back to this and resub!"

These ARE popular source tunes, so it's especially groovy that Neko's done something different with them, and you can tell from his submission letter but also the mix itself that he's into the game and its music. Sustained strings and mellow electric guits enter, then a shred bed and acoustic kit join in, leading up to the anthematic soaring-lead-over-meaty-chug melody at 0'23", at which point, I'm basically sold. What holds my interest and KEEPS me sold for the rest of the mix is the arrangement, which could have rested on its laurels and still resulted in a pretty awesome track, but actually takes the time to develop, getting more metal at 1'49" with sick arpeggio riffs and head-banging drums then backing off at 2'11" before building up again.

It's a brick house, baby, and since Justin bumped up the production, it's a killer follow-up that proves he can fly solo and make some pretty damn great stuff. I just got a raise today, this is the second great mix we've posted, and we're not even a full week into 2009 yet... pretty auspicious stuff!

Discussion

This was the ReMix that lead me to this site in the first
place... I think.

I kinda miss some parts of the original, but you stripped down
Awakening and emphasized its triumphant side very
effectively, and the inclusion of Omen feels really
natural. The buildup is incredible. A very powerful and inspiring
tune overall.

Now we get to hear Neko's first original/solo remix. Nice
atmosphere coming in at the beginning. The drums feel a little
thin as do the power chords, however, it's all performed
admirably well, especially the guitar. The lead has a great GREAT
tone to it. It reminds me heavily of Fishy's first remix from
Pokemon (that still hasn't been released yet, but soon). The
crazy double kick pedal section was a nice touch and really drove
the intensity up right before the breakdown. I love the
meaty-ness of the power chords during the breakdown section. The
tremolo on the high strings right at the end were very well done
and added a layer of texture there that was great. All in all, a
very good first sub from Justin!

This is a really insane mix, but it's definitely a bit weak on
the production side of things, at least, compared to some of your
newer stuff. It's great seeing how far you've come in that area
of things, but your arrangements have been awesome from the start

Expertly crafted buildup mix. It constantly reminds us that we
are being led somewhere, and it's going to be crazy when we get
there. And it certainly doesn't fall short, either.

The mix is at its best when it's utilising the layered guitars to
their full capacity, and thankfully, that consists of a good
portion of the mix. Certainly, the climax is an enlightening
highlight, but there are several really awesome, powerful
mini-climaxes sprinkled along the way. As far as the simpler,
thinner sections like the intro and bridges went, they showed
consistency and quality, but are obviously dwarfed by the very
conventions they hold together.

I think this mix is all about the guitar, and the guitar sounds
wicked. Heavier and more to the point than the norm; it's a hell
of a ride. Recommended if you enjoy the
contained-blast-of-metal-in-both-ears approach to game remixing.

The bass is lost in the mix tho, I can hear it, but I have to
listen very hard.

I liked the panning on the leads, however, the lead sound didn't
seem to quite fit with the sound, it sounded somewhat exposed imo
:S

I love the source btw, its def suited to the style your working
in.

I didn't think the drums flowed very well. You had plenty of
variation in your drum patterns, but you didn't use fills to
introduce the changes. They went from one pattern to the other
without warning and it threw me off a little.

I don't know the source, but I liked the arrangement. Not
perfect, but an enjoyable track, and worth the download

Sound's like Lamb of God meets Xenogears to me (not the new
stuff... more like the Ruin album, which was better). That's
pretty bad ass. Good use of the sources; for some reason, I
didn't ever think of this song being 'metal'd out'. You've
converted me there!

Help us save bandwidth - using our torrents saves us bandwidth and lets you download
multiple mixes as a single download. Use the tracker below and scroll for more information, or visit http://bt.ocremix.org directly, and please don't forget to
help us seed!!

All compositions, arrangements, images, and trademarks are copyright their
respective owners. Original content is copyright OverClocked ReMix, LLC. For information on RSS and
JavaScript news feeds, linking to us, etc. please refer to resources for webmasters. Please refer to the Info section of the site
and the FAQ available there for information about the
site's history, features, and policies. Contact David W.
Lloyd (djpretzel), webmaster, with feedback or questions not answered there.